Hurin

Linky linky (in stock, free shipping) I used to buy from ZipZoomFly (ZZF) a lot when they were called Googlegear. This was before Newegg took the world by storm. But, I hear that they (ZZF) aren't quite as good at customer service as they used to be. (sometimes shipments are delayed etc.). I'd still give them a try though if they had what I wanted (like this case)! I've always liked their free shipping! And price is nearly always competitive with Newegg.

. . . and?. . .

I've never been happy with DVDs on computers. For me, DVDs should always be enjoyed on the couch. Hence my efforts to not only re-subtitle DYRL, but to get it onto standard format DVDs that can be played on our "table top" DVD players (see sig). Having said that, I use the nvidia (hardware accelerated) DVD Decoder and plain ol' Media Player when I must watch a DVD on my computer. Simple, but very effective. There are a lot of powerful options with the nvidia decoder for deinterlacing, etc. Though, none that can save the terribly mastered Region 2 DYRL DVD! PowerDVD and Intervideo have always been big names and I've never had any problem with them. Though, I'm not sure how well they integrate with the nvidia decoder. So if you will have an nvidia video card, check that out before choosing one. Otherwise, you'll forego any of the beneifts of nvidia hardware accelerated DVD playback (which may not actually matter to you).

If you're sticking with DDR over DDR2, then you'll need to use the older socket 939 over AM2. And in that case. . . I could not have been happier with my Asus A8N32-SLI motherboard. It was, without a doubt, the best motherboard I ever owned. Linkage

Dude, it's an operating system. It'll friggin' play your games, run your programs, and ask for passwords for protected content. No need to get so worked up.

There really is no compelling technical reason to upgrade. But, of course, the geek in me wants to do so. The only thing holding me back is that the 8800 nvidia drivers for Vista are terrible right now. I'm usually one to jump on new things (hence my two 8800gtxes which broke my bank account) and suffer the complications with a smile. So, I roll my eyes whenever I hear someone say: "Wait six months for the patches". . . etc. But in this particular case, it seems warranted. If I were buying a pre-built computer, I'd have Vista put on it. But a custom-built one or an existing one. . . there's still nothing wrong with XP. Indeed, aside form eye-candy, there's nothing Vista can do that XP can't do (that you'd actually want). H

Well, others have covered the "what's this about" aspect pretty darn well. Though I'd point out that the entire Silmarillion is a bit of a tragedy. Not just the Children of Hurin. Perhaps my favorite part of Unfinished Tales is where we listen in on Hurin's conversation with Morgoth. Regarding Hurin's bloodline dying out. While no children of Hurin and Morwen (his wife) pass on, the line of his father (Hador) does so in Hurin's brother Huor. . . through Huor's son Tuor. Tuor sires Earendil. . . who sires Elros. . . first king of Numenor. Others had said that. . . but I wanted to say it too!

The old one (v2) has been revived. It was accidentally locked. H

I've had my eyes on the Benq 24". Best full-featured widescreen LCD monitor for my money. But just make sure that if you consider it, you get the latest release with the firmware that supports 1:1 pixel mapping.

That's not fair and you know it.

To get a reasonable HD master they'd have to go back to the film stock as it has a higher resolution than HD. You say that as though it's not what I just said.

Well, if DYRL does eventually become one of the HD projects, let's hope that they go back and remaster it from the original film rather than older video masters. That's the only way we'll see any benefit from HD.

Why is it any criticizm of SW whatsoever always leads to you appearing in a puff of smoke? I actually stopped myself from posting this earlier: "bsu will be dropping by to sanctimoniously mock everyone who criticizes SW in three. . . two. . . one." Now I'm kicking myself. Sadly, this is from a now-deleted thread: This, after months of me trying to make this very point to you. "Hey, you know what I just thought of. . .?" Among the fanboys, the fanboy who calls others fanboys is king.

It wasn't left in to be funny. It was left in because nobody would notice it and film is expensive. Indeed, it was not widely noticed until the home video era and the internet. I must have seen ANH a hundred times before I had this pointed out to me! As for adding a sound effect to it now, that sums up everything that went wrong with Star Wars right there. Gags, pratfalls, and fart jokes at (dramatically and narratively) inappropriate moments. Not just in the new movies, but retroactively added the the older ones. As the guy at swlegacy.com said: "If God himself had put in the klunk, it would be wrong." But, I've already gone into this here. So I'll spare everyone.

Well, they got the 80s "feathered" hair perfectly!

Hehe. Yep. That. Though it'll always be the "RDF Laser Pistol" to me! (that's what it's called in the RT Role-Playing Game book) I don't think he ever fires it at anything other than the control panel. But now we're splitting hairs. H

I remember Max shooting a laser pistol/rifle at an elevator control panel. . . but I can't seem to recall him ever handling a missile launcher, much less engaging anyone with it. Am I missing something? H

You can force those square pegs into round holes all day long. But the fact remains that the VF-0 has more modern capabilities and looks more modern because it was designed by Kawamori recently and he wanted to do something cool/modern rather than constrain himself to what would make sense within existing Macross continuity. Theres nothing wrong with retroactively fixing the continuity. But let's all be adults and recognize the reasons we have to do so.

. . . Thus all the tortured means by which rabid fans (with some help from Kawamori) have "explained" the more modern functionality and appearance of the VF-0 (ie, it not being a precursor to VF-1 but instead a test-bed for even more futuristic systems, etc.). But, of course, the real reason the VF-0 is more modern than the VF-1 is because Kawamori designed it twenty years after he designed the VF-1 and was more interested in designing an appealing, kick-ass variable fighter that might help Macross Zero succeed in the anime marketplace than he was in maintaining continuity with his twenty year-old VF-1 design that looks very dated by today's standards.

It's very simple. . . just because you're building a giant mechanized soldier to combat giant humanoids, you don't have to make your mechanized soldier the exact same size as the humanoid you hope to combat. Other design considerations should come first. The VF-1 was actually substantially taller than the average Zentraedi.

I found these online a long time ago. They are damn nice. Was just going through some old CDs of backups (consolidating them to a DVD). . . here they are. If anyone knows the author, please let me know so I can give credit. [attachmentid=39786] [attachmentid=39787]

To me, the Numenorean realms (Gondor and Arnor) always seemed like the Roman Empire. A large, civilized empire, split into two and in slow decline. . .

I'm not sure that Tolkien ever explicitly stated this (though I haven't looked too much). . . but it has been a popular interpretation ever since The Hobbit cartoon asserted this at its beginning (later re-implied by the animated RotK. But reading The Silmarillion, and his collected letters, I'd have a hard time reconciling that view and the events that are yet to unfold in Tolkien's mythology (Morgoth's return from the Void and the Last Battle at the end of the world after which the Music of the Ainur will finally be heard in all its unsullied beauty as it is sung by all Illuvatar's children --Valar, Maiar, Elves, Men, and Dwarves--). In his earliest works (the roots of The Silmarillion) he seems to want to give us the impression that his tales are on a pre-history earth. But this seems largely to be abandoned later on (decades before the LotR starts to take shape). Though, of course, many people draw parallels to the geography of Western Europe, etc. In Tolkien's mind, he wanted to provide a mythology for England. So, I think he wants us to think about this taking place on our world. But, as he readily admitted several times, chronologically and geographically, nothing fits. So, modifying my first sentence of this post a bit. . . it seems like he does want this to be in our own world. . . but didn't hold himself to any limitations that might make this seem more plausible. So, it's sorta silly to keep asserting that Middle-earth took place in the "real world" during this discussion.